Sea of Stars
by AmazonessPallas
Summary: Kine loves Tiff,dispite their obvious differences.Will the two ever share a moment to remember?Maybe in a dream...TiffKine entry for Ivy's fanfic contest


Disclaimer: I don't own Tiff/Kirby/Tuff/anyone else, and I don't take credit for them. This is a Tiff/Kine story, so if ya hate the pairing, don't read it! It's also an entry for Ivy's Tiff/Kine fanfic contest.  
  
Sea of Stars  
  
Why doesn't that damn fish understand that I don't love him?  
  
Tiff leaned back against the damp alley wall and sighed.  
  
He's embarrassed me so many times.  
  
" I HATE KINE!" she yelled. The wind carried her call away.  
  
I gave Kine so many chances.  
  
Her eyes fluttered and closed as darkness covered her view.  
  
***  
  
Tiff's eyes opened slowly, only to be met with darkness again. The moon was bright and full, hanging in the sky like a beacon.  
  
She staggered and got up. "Kine. I have to find him!"  
  
The girl ran though the black, deserted town. Everyone was sleeping. What she would do for sleep. But Tiff yawned quickly and pressed on.  
  
She halted at the beach to watch the tides roll in. Their crest's rose up toward the sky and seemed to capture the moonlight and reflect it like a mirror.  
  
"KIIINNNE!" Tiff called out into the endless ocean.  
  
No reply.  
  
"KIIIIINNNE, PLEASE ANSWER ME!"  
  
Nothing.  
  
A few tears trickled down her face as she turned her back to the water and began to walk away.  
  
"They all said I was crazy," came a small voice. Tiff turned back.  
  
Kine sort of floated in one spot, his eyes turned toward the ocean. "No one would believe me. They told me it would never work out. 'A girl and a fish, that's a laugh'"  
  
Tiff walked to the shoreline, just far enough so the salt water could wash over her feet.  
  
"Kine... I'm sorry. For yelling at you like that and getting angry." she said quietly.  
  
"I-I really liked you a lot, Tiff. Maybe I still do,"  
  
"It's not too late, you know. I could give you another chance,"  
  
Kine gazed at Tiff and then said, "Then follow me." And he began to swim out into the ocean.  
  
"Wait, where are you going Kine?!" She knew the fish wouldn't reply, so she rolled her eyes and jumped in.  
  
It was an odd thing, swimming at what was probably the early hours of the morning. The water was murky and chilling, which made Tiff swim even faster. She did the front crawl in an attempt to catch up with Kine.  
  
The two were eventually neck-and-neck. After a few minutes of treading through the salt water, Kine finally said "We're almost there,"  
  
Tiff took deep breathes and forced her arms to move. Her whole body was numb and stiff. It was a relief when Kine announced, "Here it is, you can stop."  
  
Tiff brushed a few strands of hair away from her eyes and looked at what was in front of her. There lay an ordinary, small island of rocks. One large stone stood out in particular, as it reached up above all the others.  
  
"This is the best star gazing site I know. Climb up that big stone in the middle and you'll see what I mean," Kine said. His voice contained a sort of silent excitement in it.  
  
Tiff lifted herself out of the water and anchored her right foot in the side of the stone. She climbed quickly to the top, and then halted when she caught sight of the view.  
  
A blanket of shining stars hung over Dreamland. They seemed so close you could almost grab one and pull it down from the sky. The midnight blue atmosphere met with the black waters of the ocean, and moonlight created silhouettes of trees and mountains against the painted background.  
  
"It's beautiful." Tiff remarked, her voice laced with awe.  
  
"Yeah, I love the view here" Kine agreed, and then paused for a second. "This may sound silly, but there's an old legend that some fish still use to explain the existence of the night sky. It says that the sky was made to look like the sea. The black-blue background it supposed to resemble the water, while stars are like fish. The planets are the larger of the sea life, such as the sharks and whales and so forth."  
  
"Do you believe it?" Tiff inquired.  
  
"I don't know. It sounds sort of crazy at first, but it says a lot."  
  
"Kine?"  
  
"Yes Tiff?"  
  
"Thank you for taking me here." Tiff climbed down from the stone and kissed Kine on the cheek.  
  
***  
  
"Tiff, Tiff, wake up already!"  
  
The girl rubbed her eyes and stretched her arms back.  
  
"Tiff, mom and dad were really worried about you!" Tuff stated. "Well, at least they know you're okay now."  
  
"Wait- where's Kine?!"  
  
Tuff gave her a confused look. "Kine? I haven't seen him since last night."  
  
"Then where am I?" Tiff asked slowly.  
  
"On the ground in an alley in town. Sheesh, did you lose your memory or something?"  
  
In an alley? So. it was all a dream.  
  
Tiff jumped up and headed for the beach. "I gotta go find Kine!" she yelled.  
  
Sure enough, Kine was there, floating on the water. He turned around and exclaimed happily, "TIFFY!"  
  
"Kine! What. aren't you mad at me for being so mean to you yesterday?!"  
  
Kine gave Tiff a goofy smile and said, "Nah, how could I ever be mad at you, Tiffy!"  
  
Tiff's face got bright red. "ARRGG, DON'T YOU GET IT YOU STUPID FISH, I DON'T LIKE YOU! AND STOP CALLING ME TIFFY!!!"  
  
"Whatever you say Tiffy!"  
  
"UGH!" Tiff grunted and began to stomp away.  
  
But before she left, she took one last look over her shoulder and smiled.  
  
Maybe it was all a dream. But it the best one I've had for a while. 


End file.
